Conductors arrangement of high voltage DC overhead transmission line has an important influence on the electromagnetic environment, corridor width and lightning protection performance of the line, which largely determines the technical economy of the line. Based on the different arrangements of ± 500 kV three-circuit flexible DC three-circuit conductor (including three groups of metal return lines) on the same tower, the finite element method, traveling wave method and strike distance method are used to calculate the lightning resistance. After technical and economic analysis, the vertical layout of ± 500 kV flexible DC three-circuit pole conductor and inverted triangle layout of metal circuit are proposed, which provides reference for the engineering design of ±500 kV triple-loop VSC-DC conductor.